Tourists at the Merlion Park in Singapore (Source://www.straitstimes.com) Addressing the event, Singaporean PrimeMinister Lee Hsien Loong noted that ASEAN and the region’s tourism sector inparticular is facing many challenges in an uncertain global environment.
However, he alsopointed out opportunities for the bloc’s member nations to enhance cooperation andpromotion activities in the field, stressing that intra-bloc tourism links arenecessary to attract more foreign visitors to the region.
The ASEAN nations aim to increase the number of international arrivals tothe region by 10 percent to 121 million in 2017,raking in 83 billion USD from tourism services.
During the forum, representatives from the group’s member countries discussedcooperation plans and initiatives to support each other in the field, focusingon fostering air links, cruise tourism development and high-standard perdonnel training.
The countries willcontinue promoting administrative reforms, especially thoserelated to visa and immigration procedures, to create favourable conditions fortourists and facilitate investment in tourism.
Deputy GeneralDirector of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu said theparticipants to the event debated how to turn tourism into a spearhead economicsector through tapping the potential of regional countries and the open legal policiesof the ASEAN Community.
As an active member of the bloc, Vietnam has made efforts to develop tourism andcall for investment in the field, Sieu stated, expressing his belief thatVietnam and ASEAN will become an attractive destination.
Along with the ASEAN National Tourism Organisations Meetings, the ASEANTourism Ministers' Meeting, and the ASEAN Tourism Conference, an annual tourismexhibition “TRAVEX 2017” will be arranged in the framework of the event.
Established in 1981, the annual ASEAN Tourism Forum is a platform for theregion's tourism ministers, government officials and travel industry players tocome together and discuss how to stimulate tourism growth.-VNA
VNA
